Glossary of Curling Terms

B

Back Line The line tangent to the back edge of the 12 foot ring of the house. Rocks which have completely crossed this line are out of play and removed from the sheet.

Back of the House The portion of the house behind between the tee line and the back line.

Biter A rock which just barely touches the house. When seen from the side, the stone may not appear to be in the house, but when viewed from above or measured with a biter bar, is touching the 12 foot rings. Although as far from the center of the house as possible, biters have a bad habit of coming back to bite you.

Biter Bar/StickMeasuring stick which may be used to determines if outlying rocks are in the house. A point on one end of the biter bar is inserted into a post in the center of the button and the bar is pivoted around the edge of the house. If it touches a rock, the rock is in the house, regardless of whether or not it appears to be touching the painted rings. Unlike the paint of the house rings, which may vary slightly from regulation width, a biter bar is the official width of the house.

Blank End An end in which no rocks are in the house and neither team scores. Blanking an end may be accidental or a deliberate strategic move. The team which had hammer in the blanked end retains hammer in the following end.

Board Weight A shot (typically a takeout) that is thrown with just enough weight to come to rest at or just beyond the backboard. Also called bumper weight.

Bumper Weight See Board Weight, above.

Bonspiel A curling tournament. Several meanings and origins of the name have been claimed.

Broom A hair or synthetic brush used to sweep in front of a rock so that it travels farther and "straighter" and as a stabilizing device when delivering a rock.

Burn To touch one of your own rocks with your body or equipment while it is traveling down the sheet. A rock burned between the hog lines is immediately stopped and removed from play. A rock that is burned beyond the far hog line is allowed to continue until it comes to a stop, when the person from the opposing team who is in charge of the house determines what to do with the rock. S/he may choose to remove the rock from play, move it to where s/he thinks the rock would have come to rest if not burned, or leave the rock where it came to rest.

Button The center of the house, surrounded by the 4 foot, 8 foot, and 12 foot rings, and bisected by the center line and tee line. The button is typically 2 feet in diameter.

C

Call Line To indicate to sweepers whether or not to sweep to affect the line of travel of a rock. Sweeping keeps a rock going in the same direction it was traveling when sweeping began for a longer period of time. Although typically, we speak of sweeping as making a rock go straighter, if it has already begun to curl sharply, sweeping will not "straighten it out" back to its original line of delivery. The person in charge of the house (typically tne skip or vice-skip) calls line.

Center Line The line which runs the length of a sheet and divides the sheet in half.

Come Around A shot which curls around another stone. May be a hit or a draw.

Control Zone The area in front of the tee line within 2 feet of the center line. Most scoring takes place in the control zone. The team with hammer attempts to keep the control zone clear for their last shot; teams without hammer try to "clutter it up" with rocks, making it more difficult for the team with hammer to score.

Counter A rock that scores, i.e. a rock that is closer to the center of the house than any of the opponent's stones.

Courtesy Lines Two 6-inch lines 4 feet inside the hog lines between which players should stand when their team is not delivering a rock.

Curl The curving action of a rock that is delivered down a curling sheet. The amount of curl is determined by a combination of the speed of rotation and weight of a delivered rock and ice conditions.

F

Fall A place in the ice where rocks do not travel a normal path, but move quickly away from the intended line, most typically toward the outside of the sheet.

Fast Ice Ice over which rocks travel farther than they would when delivered with the same weight on slow ice.

Flash To completely miss a shot, usually a takeout, and pass completely through the house without touching other rocks.

FLB A "friendly" little biter. Curlers have been known to use alternate adjectives for "friendly."

Four-Foot Lines Two lines which run the between the hog lines, 2 feet to either side of the center line.

Free Guard Zone The area outside the house. Any of the first 4 rocks of the game (the leads' rocks) beyond the far hog line and outside the house (i.e. in the free guard zone) may not be removed from play by the opposing team until the 5th rock (the second's first rock) is thrown.

Freeze A draw shot that comes to rest against another rock without moving it.

G

Gripper A rubber covering pulled over the slide foot when sweeping to provide better traction. Also, the permanent rubber sole on the non-sliding shoe.

Guard A rock delivered in front of the house so that it is directly in line with but a distance above another rock, thus protecting it from a hit by the opposing team. Also, a rock delivered in front of the house so that rocks thrown later can "hide" behind the guard rock. Guards are crucial to scoring; Leads throw many guards.

H

Hack Device in the ice 6 feet behind the back line which a curler uses as a toehold while delivering a rock. The non-slide foot is braced against the hack. See the Curling schoolprimer on the current delivery technique.

Hack Weight A shot (typically a takeout) that is thrown with just enough weight to come to rest at or just beyond the hacks.

Hammer The last rock thrown in an end. Teams with the hammer have the last chance to score in any end. The hammer belongs to the team that did not score in the previous end.

Handle The rotation that a curler puts on a rock during delivery. Rocks that stop rotating part way down the ice are said to have "lost their handle". Rocks that are accidentally delivered without rotation are said to have "no handle". Rocks without a handle are unpredictable in their curl and the distance traveled.

Hard!/Harder! A call from the skip to the sweepers to sweep faster and with more pressure. Also Hurry!

Heavy To throw a rock with more weight (force) than required for the called shot. Heavy rocks will travel farther than desired.

High To hit a rock high is to strike a stationary stone off-center on the side from which the thrown rock is curling.

Hit A curling shot designed to strike another rock with enough force to move the target rock. The target rock may be removed from play or moved a short distance to the advantage of the shooting team.

Hit and Roll A shot that hits a rock and then moves across the sheet to a desired location, usually behind a guard. A hit and roll typically takes out an opponents rock.

Hit and stick A shot that hits a rock and remains in the place where it hit the rock.

Hog To throw a rock with insufficient weight (force) to completely cross the far hog line. Hogged rocks are immediately removed from play.

Hog LinesTwo lines which run across the sheet 21 feet beyond the tee line.

I

Ice The distance between the target broom and the desired final location of a shot.

In-off A double take-out which removes an opponents or one's own rock, usually on the outer ring or outside the house, then rolls into the house to remove or displace an opponent's rock to score.. An extreme, exciting, and very difficult variation of a hit and roll.

In-turn A clockwise turn for a right-handed curler (counterclockwise for a left-handed curler).

Inside To throw the rock off the target broom (miss) in the same direction as the intended curl.

L

Ladder System at the Utica Curling Club by which skips progress from leagues with teams skipped by less experienced skips (i.e. lower on the ladder) up to the top of the ladder. Men's and Women's rules determine which skips move up, who stays in the same league, and who moves down after a league is finished for the year.

N

Negative Ice Ice condition in which the skip places the target broom on the opposite side of the final location than would normally be used for the called turn. Negative ice is typically employed for some shots on ice with a significant fall.

Nip To remove the very top of the pebble; evens the tops so that rocks glide faster.

O

Off! A call from the skip to the sweepers to stop sweeping. Also Up! or Whoa! or No!

Off the Broom The person delivering the rock has missed the target broom. A rock thrown too far towards the direction of curl is said to be inside or narrow; if too away from the direction of curl, it is outside or wide.

P

Pebble Small droplets of water that are sprinkled on the ice, freezing on contact. Pebble reduces the area of contact of a rock with the ice (and reduces friction).

Peel A shot which removes an opponents rock and then spins out of play. Typically used to clear rocks in blocking access to the control zone and/or to clear away any rocks that an opponent might "hide behind".

Peel Weight A takeout that is thrown with very heavy weight so as to ensure that both the shooter and a target rock both roll out of play, or to move or take out several stones at once.

Pick Occurs when a rock hits or picks up some small debris left on the ice surface. A pick will cause a rock to change direction, handle, or both.

R

Raise To bump a rock a short distance, typically so that it's in a more favorable position. Also Promote or Tap up/back.

Raise Take-out A shot involving 3 rocks. The thrown rock hits the second rock, raising it into the third rock, which is pushed out of play.

Reading the Ice The act of noticing how various parts of the ice react during a game. Where does it run fast or slow; swing more or less? Where have more rocks traveled (or not) on the ice? Are there any runs or falls? The responsibility of all team members: the person delivering the rock, so s/he knows how much weight to throw; the sweepers so they know whether or not to sweep, and the players in charge of the house, so they know how much ice to give for the desired shot.

Right Off! A call from the skip to the sweepers to stop sweeping. More urgent than No!, Up!, Off!, or Whoa! Can indicate that sweepers missed a previous call by the skip, or that in a dialogue between skip and sweepers about a conflicting need to sweep for weight (sweepers) and not to sweep for line (skip), the skip has decided that line is more important than weight for that shot.

S

Scrape To remove ice layers until all sheets are level. Scraping removes old layers of pebble and any dirt. After a scrape, ice is faster than before the scrape.

Second The team member who throws the 3rd and 4th rocks. Part of the front end.

Sheet The field of play for curling, approximately 150 feet long and 15 feet wide.

Shot/Shot Rock The rock that is closer to the center of the house than any other rock. The second shot is second closest to the center of the house, etc.

Lines down the length of the ice that are the side boundaries of a curling sheet.

Skip The team member who calls the game: making final strategy decisions, determining shots, and holding the target broom for teammates. Commonly, the skip throws the 7th and 8th rocks, but many skips throw in other positions. Part of the back end.

Slider The slippery surface on the sole of the slide shoe. Typically made of Teflon; metal and brick sliders are also made. Alternatively, a shoe-shaped piece of Teflon that can be attached temporarily to the slide foot.

Slow Ice Ice over which rocks travel less distance than they would when delivered with the same weight on fast ice. Also called heavy ice.

Spinner A rock that has been given too much rotation upon delivery. Spinners do not curl as much as rocks thrown with the proper amount of rotation.

Stabilizer A delivery aid gripped in the hand not holding the rock, used as an alternative to a broom. Pejoratively, referred to as a "crutch."

Stack the Brooms To socialize with your team and opponents. In social leagues, can occur as a break during a game; more typically, occurs after a game.

Stick A delivery aid for persons who cannot perform the "standard" delivery. The stick has a fitting at one end which fits over the handle of the missing parameter for aname. Stick curlers either stand to deliver their rocks, or are in wheelchairs. Also see Hit and Stick.

Stones The object thrown or delivered by curlers during a game. Stones, or rocks, are made of granite and weigh between 38 and 44 pounds.

Straight Ice Ice on which a rock, given a normal rotation, will curl less than expected - less than 3 feet.

Sweep A call from the skip to the sweepers to sweep. Also Yes. See Hurry and Hard.

Sweeping To move a curling broom back and forth in front of a moving rock. Sweeping is most effective when done quickly and with weight. Sweeping transiently alters the ice surface to reduce the friction between the rock and the ice surface. The rock travels farther and curls less.

Swingy Ice Ice on which a rock, given a normal rotation, will curl more than expected - more than 4 feet.

T

Take-out A rock which hits another rock, removing the second rock from play. Hits vary in weight, depending on how far the target rock needs to be moved and how straight the hitting rock needs to run.

Tap Back/Up A gentle hit, in which the thrown rock moves the hit rock a short distance. Tap backs may be used to move your own rock into a favorable position, or to move an opponent's rock to a position useful for your team. Also Promote or Raise.

Tee The center of the house. In the early days of curling, it was marked with a vertical post (the tee) to help the player delivering to aim. See Pin.

Tee Lines The lines crossing the width of a curling sheet through the center of the house (the tee).

Third The team member who throws the 5th and 6th rocks. Typically, the third is also the vice-skip, and is in charge of the house when the skip throws. Part of the back end.

Tick Shot A shot called so as to barely nick a stationary stone in play and move it aside. Frequently used in late ends by the team with the hammer to move center guards away from the center of the sheet, but not remove them from play, which would violate the free guard zone rule.

U

V

Vice/Vice-skip The team member who is in charge of the house when the skip throws, holding the broom and call line. The vice-skip is also commonly the third. In Canada, typically the person who tosses the coin to determine which team has last rock in the first end. Part of the back end.